Title: Arm Architecture Reference Manual 2nd Ed

Review Date: March 2002
Author: Joeseph Lemieux
Pub: CMP Books
ISBN: 1-57820-081-4
COST: -
DISK/CD CD
Cover: soft
Pages 358
Keywords Embedded Automotive OSEK :
Recommendation: Not recommended
Source: - ACCU

This book is aimed at professional Engineers. (The targets discussed are 500 series PPC board from AXIOM and Wind River OSEK Works neither of which are inexpensive)

 

On the CD are the official OSEK standards. This makes the book useful (though these are also available on the OSEK web site) but it begs the question as to why the API takes up 100 pages in the book when it is on the CD. Also on the CD are all the sources of the application described in the book. NOTE there is no OSEK implementation on the CD. OSEK is NOT a "free" OS.

 

It is difficult to see who would use this book. It requires an OSEK compliant OS (not an inexpensive item) if you want to use the software on the CD. Anyone who has access to an OSEK compliant OS will have plenty of examples and manuals. The specific OSEK OS used as a target in the book (OSEKWorks from Wind River) comes with a lot of support anyway.

There is enough free generic OSEK information available and the vendors will fall over them selves to provide information on their own implementations. Half the book is the API that is in the standards and freely available from www.oesk.org.

Whilst it's aims are good I find little useful material in this book that is not free elsewhere or requires a lot of money to use. It you have no money download the standards. If you have the cash the OSEK vendor will provide the docs and support.